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United Airlines points upgrade - int'l flight
Posted on 11/9/22 at 8:43 am
Posted on 11/9/22 at 8:43 am
I booked a flight to Greece with United this week. I purchased "Premium Plus" class seats- which includes Economy Plus for the domestic leg and Premium Plus for the international portion. I have a Chase Sapphire card with over 100k points. This morning I was looking at upgrades to Polaris Business and it gave me the option to purchase the upgrade outright, or use miles + copay. I transferred the required miles to my Mileage Plus account, and then purchased the upgrades for myself and wife. I went to choose the new seats and it says I am on the waitlist- and I will find out later if I get upgraded.
In my ignorance I assumed once I purchased the upgrade that I would instantly be moved to Business Class. Seems that if I would have just paid full price in dollars I would have gotten this. I have never used points to purchase tickets/upgrades and this only adds to the reasons why I just redeem points for cash at the end of each year.
My questions are- when will I know if I receive the upgrade? Will it not be until check in starts? If there is only 1 upgrade available would my wife and I be in different cabins? I would like to cancel the upgrade altogether and get my points/money back- is this possible? I have already reached out to United, and am waiting on a response.
I admit I am naive about the points game, so any clear explanation would be helpful.
In my ignorance I assumed once I purchased the upgrade that I would instantly be moved to Business Class. Seems that if I would have just paid full price in dollars I would have gotten this. I have never used points to purchase tickets/upgrades and this only adds to the reasons why I just redeem points for cash at the end of each year.
My questions are- when will I know if I receive the upgrade? Will it not be until check in starts? If there is only 1 upgrade available would my wife and I be in different cabins? I would like to cancel the upgrade altogether and get my points/money back- is this possible? I have already reached out to United, and am waiting on a response.
I admit I am naive about the points game, so any clear explanation would be helpful.
4
Posted on 11/9/22 at 8:57 am to slinger1317
If there are no seats or few seats available in Polaris, they will wait to tell you until they know.
It could be up to boarding to figure out.
It could be up to boarding to figure out.
Posted on 11/9/22 at 10:11 am to slinger1317
You're always waitlisted on United when you use miles for upgrades. Someone with a high status that requests an upgrade will bump you. It's the same with someone willing to pay cash for the upgrade.
Posted on 11/9/22 at 11:05 am to VABuckeye
quote:
It's the same with someone willing to pay cash for the upgrade
That's what I've gathered. Should have known it was too good to be true when I saw the price with points vs the cash price. Lesson learned for me.
I've been in contact with UA on Twitter, they are working on it now. Technically I should have to eat it, but they seem to be willing to cancel/refund the upgrade request.
Posted on 11/9/22 at 11:19 am to slinger1317
If you don't get the upgrade they will refund the money and miles/points. I hope you get it. Polaris Class is nice.
Posted on 11/9/22 at 11:52 am to VABuckeye
I certainly wouldn't mind the upgrade. I have a few questions about the upgrade that I can't seem to get an answer:
I purchased tickets for myself and my wife on the same itinerary- would they split us up if only 1 upgrade comes open?
If we both get upgraded- would our seats be together? Our original seats are together and I realize the odds of getting 2 seats together as an upgrade are small.
Let's say we get the upgrade- would we have the option to accept/decline the upgrade at that point or would we automatically be placed in the Polaris cabin and stuck with whatever seats are available?
I purchased tickets for myself and my wife on the same itinerary- would they split us up if only 1 upgrade comes open?
If we both get upgraded- would our seats be together? Our original seats are together and I realize the odds of getting 2 seats together as an upgrade are small.
Let's say we get the upgrade- would we have the option to accept/decline the upgrade at that point or would we automatically be placed in the Polaris cabin and stuck with whatever seats are available?
Posted on 11/9/22 at 12:21 pm to slinger1317
Polaris Class is pods. They may be together but they really aren't together.
Not sure about 1 upgrade.
Not sure about 1 upgrade.
Posted on 11/9/22 at 12:44 pm to VABuckeye
quote:
Polaris Class is pods. They may be together but they really aren't together.
Yeah I was just thinking ahead on that one. The wife would probably freak out if we were on opposite ends of the cabin. I can already see me having to explain that Polaris Class isn't a traditional seat. She is old school and thinks we still have to share a headset and watch the same movie on our iPad
I would welcome the privacy of the pod anyway. I'm a taller guy so having a little more room on an overnight flight is always a plus.
Posted on 11/9/22 at 3:23 pm to slinger1317
For other airlines - is it better to buy an economy or economy plus seat and then use points to upgrade to business?
If you dont have enough points to just pay for business straight up with points
If you dont have enough points to just pay for business straight up with points
Posted on 11/9/22 at 3:56 pm to slinger1317
quote:
She is old school and thinks we still have to share a headset and watch the same movie on our iPad
That’s funny. Old school is considered watching a movie on a portable screen.
Posted on 11/9/22 at 4:47 pm to PassGassed
It’s a crapshoot upgrading with miles because you’re pretty low down the pecking order.
Posted on 11/11/22 at 9:27 pm to slinger1317
I waitlisted for business class with miles and points for IAH -> FRA long in advance for a flight in July. Fiancee and I were #32 and #33 on the list and 3 total cleared at check-in .
I think I put down like $600 and 60k points or something. I was reviewing financial documents 6 weeks later and noticed they never refunded me. I had to call to get them to refund it. The paranoid part of me thought the mistake could have been by design
. I think I put down like $600 and 60k points or something. I was reviewing financial documents 6 weeks later and noticed they never refunded me. I had to call to get them to refund it. The paranoid part of me thought the mistake could have been by design
Posted on 11/12/22 at 9:42 am to LSUsuperfresh
I chatted with an agent via Twitter and they are going to refund me the points and copay. The points are already back in my account but still no pending refund on my CC. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to follow up.
But I’m glad they were willing to work with me- this was totally on me.
But I’m glad they were willing to work with me- this was totally on me.
Posted on 11/13/22 at 9:14 am to slinger1317
Were you not willing to let it ride and see if you got the upgrade? Were there a lot of seats available in Polaris? We did the exact thing to Italy and got the upgrade a couple weeks in. We booked about 8 weeks before the trip. Same scenario.. was excited but let down we were waitlisted. Then really excited to get the upgrade. Did the same thing on the return and didn’t get it, but that could have been my fault for waiting to request that one. Our 3 names were 15th on the list a couple days before our trip home. Polaris is absolutely spoiling. Returning in march but on delta and I’m nervous about our premium plus seats.
Posted on 11/13/22 at 1:32 pm to PassGassed
I've flown it and the pods are similar to those on other airlines like United, British Air, Iberia, etc. The food is not up to par with some others and not close to something like Emirates.
Posted on 11/13/22 at 10:46 pm to VABuckeye
Exactly what I was thinking. Polaris is nothing like Emirates first or business or any of the air suites type experiences. You get a seat that is individualized and as comfortable as they could make it for the price you pay. One perk that I thought was helpful was the Polaris lounge. Our flight out of Nola to Dulles was canceled 12 hours before departure. I rescheduled for an earlier flight and ended up spending more layover time in Dulles than originally planned. Which was WAY more comfortable in the Polaris lounge than any United club I’ve ever been in. Then when in Dulles our flight to Brussels was delayed and I knew we would miss our connection to Naples. The Polaris agents had worked up scenarios and alternate flights before I even approached them. They were waiting on me and ran options through other countries and even tried trains and alternate airports. They were awesome. No lines or searching for a United desk.
Posted on 11/14/22 at 5:01 am to SuwMwf
As someone who flies United too much...
You can be split on upgrades. Most of the time, they will ask you if you want to upgrade without your significant other. As you know, you let the significant other have the upgrade or you will pay much more if not
You can be split on upgrades. Most of the time, they will ask you if you want to upgrade without your significant other. As you know, you let the significant other have the upgrade or you will pay much more if not
Posted on 11/14/22 at 4:26 pm to tccdc
Polaris Lounge is the best. Day beds, showers, drinks and food is decent
Posted on 12/14/22 at 1:48 pm to PassGassed
quote:
For other airlines - is it better to buy an economy or economy plus seat and then use points to upgrade to business?
If you dont have enough points to just pay for business straight up with points
Following up my own question with another question.. for airlines such as American, United, Delta, Air Canada -- is it cheaper in the long run to book an economy ticket and then do a cash upgrade to business after booking?
I've noticed on United flights for instance pre-booking economy prices might be $350 and first class $1200
Then after booking economy you can go in the app and upgrade for say $350 so overall $700 for first class
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